Tag Archives: Udaipur

Sleeper Bus

It was the Sleeper Bus From Hell. I traded in two perfectly good train tickets so I could ride this beast. It’s a sleeper bus. I did it because I had never ridden a sleeper bus like this before. It has compartments that sleep one or two people. I had a single compartment. I rode this bus from Udaipur to Mumbai. It cost me $19 and I regret riding the darn thing. I have never been in a vehicle that rocked and rolled and seemed to have no suspension whatsoever. At every bump, and there were millions of them, it bounced me up off of the mattress. I don’t think I’ll ever get on a sleeper bus in India again. If I do, it will have to be one of the super deluxe models, because, while it may look nice in the picture, it wasn’t.

Bike Ride – Udaipur

I rented a bike in Udaipur and went for a spin. It cost me a dollar to rent the bike for a day, but I didn’t keep it that long. You are taking your life and putting it in God’s hands when you do anything but walk in India.

Great Show

It was the nightly show held at the museum that was next to my hotel in Udaipur, India. It was supposed to be a traditional Indian show of song and dance. I was so impressed with the show that I came back a second night because I forgot my video camera the first night. I wanted to make sure I got some video of the show for my family.

Water Palace – Udaipur

This is a close-up of the water palace in Udaipur. It’s the one used in the Octopussy movie. It looked like a very nice palace. I got this close because I took a boatr tour around the lake. There are two boat tours that go around the lake. There’s the 500 rupee tour that leaves from the city palace and there’s the 200 rupee tour that leaves from the Lal Ghat area. Guess which tour I took.

Lal Ghat – Udaipur

daipur has ghats on the lake. This is Lal Ghat, the most prominent in the city. The Lal Ghat area is the area where most of the budget tourist hotels are located. One thing I wanted to do was to do a tour of the city, but the tour bus was broken down. How long had it been broken down? They guy at the tourist place didn’t volunteer the information, but if I were to take a guess, I’d probably guess a year or more. How long until it becomes usable again? I’m not sure but if I were guessing, I’d say another year. This is India, man…

Lake Palace From Hotel

This is a picture of the lake palace from the roof-top restaurant in my hotel in Udaipur. This palace was the one used in the Octopussy film of the James Bond series of movies. It looked pretty nice sitting on the water. I understand that it’s still in use. The only way to get there is by boat. Unless the lake goes dry, which I’ve read has happened. It’s a fairly shallow lake.

Jaiwana Haveli – Udaipur

It was my hotel in Udaipur, India. The word haveli in Indian means mansion. What happens is that the old mansions of a city are often converted into hotels. This hotel was great. It cost me about $16 a night and I felt it was worth it. The room was very modern and clean. I paid $2 extra each day for wi-fi, which was often spotty as to the reception. The restaurant upstairs had really great views, but the food was expensive and way-too-spicy. More often than not I only ate half of the dinner meal, making it way-too-expensive. I stayed in Udaipur for a couple of extra days instead of moving on to Mumbai because I had trouble finding a cheap hotel in Mumbai. Plus I got to ride on an overnight sleeper bus instead of an overnight train train. More about that later after it happens.

Albert Hall – Jaipur

On the way to Udaipur, India from Jodhpur, I had a ten-hour layover at Jaipur. I spent that time doing a little touring, trying to see some of the sights I missed my first time in the city. Albert Hall was one thing I got to see that I thought was really worthwhile. It was, essentially a museum of eclectic pieces of Indian history. I liked it. I found the architecture of Albert Hall to be turn-of-the-century perfect. I wanted to get a derby hat and a 1900 Cadillac car and drive up to the front.

Crowd At Jain Temple – Udaipur, India

It was the Jain Temple in Jaisalmer. It was in the morning. The Jain religion is very similar to Hiduism in some respects. Both started in India. Both pre-date Christianity by hundreds of years. Jainism also has several concepts in common with Buddhism. There is some people who feel that Buddhism came into being because of Jain theology and concepts. Anyway, there were quite a few people at the Jain Temple on the morning I snapped this picture. Jain temples are considered to be some of the most ornate temples in Asia. I probably should have gone later in the day. There are 7 Jane temples in Jaisalmer. This is the main temple. There is an entrance fee and a camera fee.

Rolling Okie

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